True Hero's never receive Medals
by Links6
Summary: EDITED! A deeper look into the year Harry Potter left Hogwarts. The war Neville Longbottom kept fighting... with help from an unexpected source... hurt!torture!Neville eventual awesome!Snape
1. True Hero's

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its related characters or themes.

AN1: Such a plot bunny as never before hit me when I was re-reading Deathly Hallows. Seriously. I mean, Neville NEEDS his own epic...fic, right?

AN2: The beginning was kinda creepy, but after reading her encounter with McGonagall I can just IMAGINE how she'd work with students! *creep'd out*

As with all my fanfics, expect tons of OOC-ness. You have been warned!

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><p>.<p>

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**_True Hero's never receive Medals_**

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Neville Longbottom frowned, drumming his fingers impatiently as he sat outside Alecto's office. An hour. An hour he's been kept waiting. But, not for nothing. During that hour, he's been listening to Colin Creevey's mumbling, incessantly.

He's been listening to how Colin continues in a flamboyantly describing manner how he's been training his Patronus charms. How Dumbledore's army is still training every minute they can manage. How the mirrors on the wall are now pasted in pictures of all the members of the Order and all the old staff of Hogwarts.

Veritaserum is wonderfully effective against the weak of character.

Neville sighed. At least the Room of Requirement hasn't been explicitly mentioned. There's no telling if the room can withstand another Umbridge-type of assault. For now, by the skin of their teeth they're still safe.

"Thank you, Mr. Creevey, now leave," Alecto's voice floated through the door.

Neville's throat tightened as a cold wave of fear washes over him. _My turn._

A very drained and weary Colin emerges through the door, "Hi… Neville… you look like death… " he says, his smile is delayed, "Professor Carrow is ready to interrogate you next…". After effects of Veritaserum… blissfully blunt honesty.

It's times like these that Neville almost wishes he had gone into hiding like his grandmother. Like Luna and her father. Like Harry, Hermoine and Ron. Like the whole damned Order of the Phoenix.

He licks his lips, tastes the aftertaste of the tea made of the daisy-like, flimsy houseplant he's been growing in his trunk. _Dillweed._ _Augustus Flora, a cousin of chamomile._ _Said to lessen the effects of pain. Calms the nerves and serves to protect against all forms of the Dark Arts._

He sucks in a breath when Agrid calls him into her office.

"Come in, Mr. Longbottom," she says, waving the door shut as soon as he crossed the threshold.

He can smell Devil's claw burning as incense in the corner. A good choice. Counter-acts Chamomile –which means she knows he's a herbology nerd. Devil's Claw is meant to work as an adrenalin-booster and helps to fight fatigue… he smiles to himself when the answer hits him. At least the Cruciatus curse won't come as a surprise this time. The incense is just to keep Alecto's "fun" going longer.

On one hand, he hates her even more now. How she uses his love for Herbology to be used for _their purposes. For Evil._

"If you can have a seat, Mr. Longbottom," Alecto says sweetly, indicating to the plush chair next to the fireplace.

_You want me to be comfortable before you curse me… that way it'll be much more effective… _Nevile's lips pull taut and he opts to stand instead, "No, thank you, _Professor,_".

"Very well?..." Alecto says, her face convincingly confused, "Would you like a cup of tea, love?"

"With all due respect, I would like to get this over with… _Professor,_" he says, lowering his head as he narrows his eyes.

Alecto is by no means an unattractive young woman. Tall, slender. Always wearing fitting suits and loose and flowing dark blouses that were seemingly designed to be aesthetically pleasing to male onlookers. Her mannerisms are always careful… calculated… polite. Until she decides that one's useful purpose to her is finished, that is.

"Very well," she says, she picks up her eight-inch white wand from her desk, "As I'm sure you're aware… we're looking for the group of rebels in this school…"

She walks towards him, pacing slowly in a circle him, "Dumbledore's Army…" she says, intentionally letting her hand brush against his.

He instinctively retracts, "Harry Potter left Hogwarts. DA disbanded when he left," he answers, keeping his eyes lowered.

"Really? … but there are still rumours… " Alecto practically purrs, she drags her wand across his stomach, "That _someone _is keeping that group of _very talented students _in this Army…And that he won't let them reach their full potential… he's keeping them back from their true destiny…"

Neville knows she's lying, but it doesn't lessen the wounds the words leave behind. _'You're holding everyone back, Neville.' _ When he meets her dark brown eyes his eyes start watering, "And who do you think this someone is?" he asks, cringing when his voice breaks mid-way through his question.

She stops pacing and brushes her fingertips against his again, "Headmaster Snape suspects _you_," she says and just as Neville's stomach ties into a crushing knot, she leashes a Cruciatus curse upon him. "Are you?"

He hits the floor before he knows he's falling. His ears ring painfully and his vision covers into a white mass. His entire body convulses into a spasm as the curse lives up to its name. "Of course I am!" he yells through clenched teeth. He doesn't need Veritaserum to be relied upon for honesty. Smart.

_Breathe, breathe, breathe. Separate your mind. Remove your mind from your body. Calm. Breathe. _

"You are, are you?" she screams, her voice slicing into his skull from its mere pitch, "Well then! Where do you brats assemble? "

It feels like a knife is digging through his back, but he stays silent. He rides out the second wave of the Crucio curse and tries to ignore how his whole body is on pins-and-needles. _Remember…. Remove your mind from your body… relax. Remember what Snape said!_

He forces his shoulders down and forces himself to roll into a crouch, "You can … use that _spell _on me…. All you want…" his eyes starts tearing as he looks up, he growls loudly as he pushes himself up, "I… won't tell you…. A damned thing…"

"_Professor?"_ Snape's voice suddenly echoes through the room.

The sound of Voldemort's right-hand man caused Alecto to instantly extinguish the curse; the unexpected release of torture caused Neville to fall forwards, inadvertently smack face-first into the carpet on the floor. He laid panting on the floor, slightly disorientated and plagued by vertigo.

"Yes, Headmaster?" Alecto's sweet voice returns effortlessly. Just as sadistic as Umbridge.

"I see you're having…. " Snape takes his time to looks at Neville over before continuing, "difficulty extracting information from a seventh year student?"

"Oh… well… you s-" she starts, but Snape merely strides past her and grabs the back of Neville's robes.

"I will _personally _deal with this one… " he sneers down at -the now trembling- Neville and continues to his office down the hall, "How I longed to finally return the favour of blowing up half of my class in your first year."

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><p><em>CLIFFY! LOL. I hope you enjoyed this fic! I'll probably continue on with it, depending on how it goes. <em>

**_ANYWHO! Thanks for reading! Please drop me review or pm if you liked it! :DD_**


	2. Enemies vs Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its related characters or themes.

AN1: Such a plot bunny as never before hit me when I was re-reading Deathly Hallows. Seriously. I mean, Neville NEEDS his own epic...fic, right?

AN2: A super special-tastic thank you to all my Alert-ees, Favourite-ees AND reviewers! My 2 Anonymous reviewers, duj and SarahsaDork thank you so much! Your reviews meant so much to me! I never thought there'd actually be any interest in this storyline, since hey, Harry IS supposed to be the main character... but, seems it's not too bad! I hope you all will like this chapter too!

AN3: There might be an issue with the spelling of the spells or with the qualities of the herbs mentioned... I tried to go with memory, but I'll fix it if there's a problem. I haven't been able to access my internet as often as I hoped, I usually do research before I write fics,but I haven't been able to do that the past few weeks *cries*... I hope it's not too much of an eyesore xP Sorry!

As with all my fanfics, expect tons of OOC-ness. You have been warned!

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_**True Hero's never receive Medals**_

_**Chapter 2: Enemies vs Friends**_

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"I will _personally _deal with this one… " he sneers down at -the now trembling- Neville and continues to his office down the hall, "How I longed to finally return the favour of blowing up half of my class in your first year."

When they finally reached Snape's old office, he tossed Neville inside and slammed the door behind him. He charmed the door to send any intruders who walked in straight out of random doors within Hogwarts. A handy spell Dumbledore had taught him while he was still a student.

Neville, shivering from shock, sat in a heap on the floor. He was hugging his legs, a bravely held stoic expression on his face.

The dungeon office didn't seem too different than the time when Snape actually _taught _there. Even though Slughorn had taken over the position of Potions Master, the office actually still seemed to look the same – disregarding all the photos and odd accessories Slughorn had used for décor. The vials, jars and cauldrons were still lining wall-to-wall. It still smelt musty and dank. It was still as scary as it was when Neville had first set foot here, seven years ago.

"Are you injured?" Snape commanded, walking back to the young man, crouching down next to him in one smooth motion.

"No", Neville answers cuttingly. He doesn't meet Snape's eyes.

"Are you still in pain?"

The young man looks up, surprised at the concerned tone of his tormentor's voice, "N… _I'm fine._" He forces himself to keep sounding much stronger and aggressive than he's actually feeling.

"Don't. Lie. To. Me!" Snape frowned, reaching forwards –noting how Neville remained tensed and impassive -and touching Neville's arm with his fingers, "Do you feel that?"

"…N-no…?"

When Snape finally stands, Neville looks up, "… why are you helping?" he asks, his voice strained to a whisper, "… I mean… if you're still our Headmaster, it can't-"

"What are you trying to say, Longbottom?" Snape snaps and crosses his arms, "You think the Dark Lord just sends his Death Eaters wherever? _No._ He has a plan. Where else to train an entire generation of Death Eaters if _not _through a School for Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

Neville just pulls his lips tight. Whatever he meant to say next is now lost.

After a few moments, Snape finally continues, "It's only going to get worse," he says and notes how Neville's pained expression suddenly intensifies. For a second confusion runs through Snape's system, but then, slowly he remembers. Frank and Alice Longbottom. Of course. The child's parents. "The Dark Lord is steadily growing stronger. Soon Hogwarts will no longer house four different emblems… soon all the muggle-borns in the school will be… separated from the pure-bloods. Only those who're strong can rebel."

"But… "

He walks over to his old potions stock –noting with disgust how low his Acacia, Dragon's Blood and Saffron collection had dwindled due to that glutton of a replacement- and searches slowly through the thousands of vials on the table, "You don't think so?... You don't think you are, do you?" he says incredulously, pushing some of the vials to the side to reach further. He has to force himself not to sigh when he spots his Juniper oil vial to be almost empty. Still, to pay _ten gallions _for one bottle was _not cheap. _

"My parents were fully fledged Aurors… of the highest class… I can't even keep hold of my wand half the time…" he snaps, suddenly feeling anger bubbling inside of him. Baseless anger. Anger without reason. Another after-effect of Crucio. "They were driven mad by Be-"

"_BE _that as it may, you are not your parents…" Snape says, absentmindedly waving his hand over the candles in the room, each sprouting a flame instantly, "For one thing, you're actually adept at Herbology… your father couldn't grow a Mandrake Root even if the water, seeds and soil all jumped into a pot by their own accord."

The corner of Neville's lips twitched into a smile. A long time has gone by since he'd smiled, his cheeks feel stiff at the movement. But, the moment is quickly lost, when Neville's consciousness forced himself _not _to forget that Snape was on _their side. Not his._

Snape reaches up to the corner-shelf and finally reaches the desired vial, "Ah… essence of Wild Chestnut," he says and turns back to the young man, "Do you know what this is for?", calling out the young man's love for herbology.

"Mostly a nerve tonic…. But it's after effects also include subsiding fear, aiding clear focus and …. A…" Neville paused, his eyes searching from side to side as if the answers were floating around him.

"_And?_" Snape prodded, hoping the young man will be able to pull through the last stage of shock on his own. He knows just how badly self-image can be damaged by the ragged edges that shock leaves behind if one is saved, instead of doing the saving.

"It also … " Neville pauses long enough for Snape to take a seat on the couch next to the fireplace.

Snape re-crosses his arms and sits silently, allowing the student in front of him to think through the problem himself.

For a moment Neville shudders, but he suddenly blinks, sits upright and gives a lopsided smile, "I- it's also used to counter grief…" he finally mumbles. He sighs, "I'm sorry, what does this have to do with anything? Are we having a potions or herbology lesson?" he snaps tiredly once his thoughts drifted back to his previous reminder – _that Snape was not on his side._

Snape sets the vial down in front of him, "Two drops in a glass of water. " he instructs.

Neville's eyes narrow in suspicion, trying to acess any motives Snape would have for wanting him to take the potion. Because, it isn't possible… right? Snape wouldn't _want _to help him…. Right? Of course, if Snape would _want _to poison him, he would've done so already, wouldn't he?

Snape slips his hand into his robe pocket and emerges with his wand, he points his wand to the sleeping owl next to the fireplace, "_Vera Verto._". In an instant the barn owl is transfigured into a water goblet, rolling on the rim for a moment before coming to rest. With a brisk whip of his wand, and a muttered "_Aguamenti_", the goblet instantly fills with water.

It takes Neville a while to find his feet, cringing each time his body sways. When he's finally up, he pointedly ignores the vial and heads for the goblet instead. He takes two gulps of water before crouching by the fire, "Thank you, Headmaster…"

"You should take the potion, Neville…" Snape says and looks away when the young man turns to meet his eyes, "You, most likely, will not have another opportunity."

Neville suddenly laughs. And, it's not a hysterical or sarcastic laugh. The sound is cheerful, almost carefree. "I don't think so," he says and somehow sounds much more alert than he looks.

"Suit yourself," Snape says and relaxes back into the couch, rubbing his tired eyes, "If you're done, I will need you to galvanize this fireplace. The dungeons temperature controls most of Hogwarts' heating… I will prefer not to have to wade through a sea of disease-ridden students this winter."

Neville suddenly smiles, not missing the obvious lie. Regardless of the lack of rationality of _one _fireplace making a difference to an entire castle, it was Snape's amused tone that tipped the young man off. It's then when it hits him : how Snape's been nothing but helpful all along. How Snape was the one who kept everyone –the Carrows- in line. How he's been protecting everyone by minimizing the damage where he could. He suddenly realized, how the man in front of him, was on his side.

Neville, being as shrewd as he was, was smart enough to remain silent, nod acquiescently and sit in front of the fireplace with a content smile as the warmth soaked into him, "Yes, Headmaster Snape."

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><p><em>I hope to get into the Canon storyline next time. Dealing with the DA and class times with the Carrows. w00t! I hope you enjoyed this fic! <em>

**_Thanks for reading! Please drop me review or pm if you liked it! :DD_**


	3. After effects and Affects

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its related characters or series…. Seriously.

AN1: Alecto and Amycus were actually quite…er… unattractive in the book. It's canon. BUT, I changed their looks a bit, just to make their evil-ness (is that even a word?) a bit less… obvious. It changes the atmosphere about their appearances (aka. Don't judge a book by its cover). Don't worry, their evil-ness is/are/will be still very much intact.

Also, the Canon plot: All the Hogwarts houses have been boiled down to a single house. So, no more Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.

AN2: Lily of the Valley is a SERIOUSLY poisonous plant, so _no eating. Sirius-ly. _ Lol.

AN3: Some characters in the Deathly Hallows book might die a bit sooner/later than is Canon. There're also some minor OC's in this series, basically since _all _magical children _have _to be enrolled into Hogwarts. So, there will be appearances of never-seen-before characters. But, this story is about Neville, Snape, the DA and the Dark Days at Hogwarts.

AN3: As with all my previous fanfics, be prepared for some MAJOR OOC-ness and possibly AU-ness :)

AN4: Again, there might be an issue with the spelling of the spells or with the qualities of the herbs mentioned... I haven't been able to access my internet as often as I hoped, and I usually DO do research before I write fics, but I haven't been able to do that the past… yeah, since last year *cries*... I hope it's not too much of an eyesore xP Sorry!

…wow, lots of AN today -.-;;

A HUGE huge for Flika StrawBerry for her review…. Man… I've been procrastinating on writing further in this series for about 2 months now and that review BLEW ME AWAY! That was the best review I've received in over a year! WOAH! Thank you so very much for your lovely inspiring review… it totally had me itching to get back to writing! *huggles*

Also, for anon (lol, sometimes anonymous reviews are so awesome ^.^),SarahsaDork, duj, FireChildSlytherin5 for their amazing reviews! And all my alert-eez and favourite-eez…. MWAH! Love you all! It always makes my day to see a review for any of my fics on my email alert.

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**_After-effects and affects_**

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It's around seven in the morning when Neville, tired and stiff, finally gets up from his place in front of the fireplace. He'd been lying on his stomach, his head propped on a pillow, sleeping. What woke him up, was Slughorn entering his office.

For a split second he wonders what happened to Prof –_Headmaster _Snape, but he doesn't linger on it. It was enough that Snape was there to help him the previous night. It was more than enough.

"My dear boy! What on _earth _are you doing here so early?" he growls, already in a foul mood.

_Probably had a run in with one of the bloody Death Eaters…_The young man finally yawns tiredly and rolls his neck, "Sorry, professor, I -"

"How did you get in here?" Slughorn says, a quick glance to his vials and commodities to make sure none of his beloved treasures were stolen.

"Headmaster Snape, he -"

"Didn't you have '_detention'_ with Alecto-"

"Yes, sir, but-"

"Need not say any more, my boy," the man says and finally smiles lopsidedly, "Would you like some tea and biscuits before heading off? I expect you would want to …" he gestured non-chalantly to Neville's sleep wrinkled clothes and overall untidy appearance, "… get ready to face the day."

_'Face the day'. Seize the day is more like it. _Neville Longbottom nods and takes the seat offered by the Potions Master.

"It's another dreary day, unfortunately," Slughorn says and conjures up a tray of already-made deliciously hot tea and biscuits on the coffee table in front of them, "I doubt we shall see the sun for weeks to come."

And it was true. Somehow, since Death Eaters took over Hogwarts… it seemed the sun literally didn't shine here anymore.

Even now, in November, it should at least be a bit sunny. It might snow in the evenings, but usually throughout the day it would be sunny and crisp, instead of cold and overcast. It did nothing to help the terrible darkness that seemed to grip the school at the moment.

"Help yourself," Slughorn says, already having eaten four lemon-cream biscotti's.

A sip of tea, a bite of a cookie. He already felt sick. "Thank you, professor," Neville says and swallows hard, trying to force down the unhealthy breakfast. His hands are still trembling, enough to rattle the cup against the saucer.

Slughorn may be a glutton, he may be a wimp, but he's not an idiot. "Is that all? You barely got a bite into your system, young man!" he says indignantly, "You barely even eat at the Great Hall anymore, do you _want_ to starve?"

Neville blinks a few times. _How on earth did he know THAT?_

"We teachers love to gossip, Mr. Longbottom," Slughorn says and nods to himself, he takes another gulp of tea.

_It was probably McGonagall. _Neville sighs and eyes the oatmeal biscuits. The brown, sugared, coating. A couple of oats were peeking through the dough. He suddenly felt sick.

Before Slughorn could even ask the young old-Gryffindor student where he was going, Neville was halfway to the boys' bathroom with his hand clasped around his mouth. He dodged Filch and _Norris _on the way to the bathroom, flinging open the door and locking himself inside.

When he finally stops retching, quickly flushing the final remains of his breakfast away, he steadies himself against the seat and waits for the final wave of nausea to pass. He can feel his forehead breaking out in sweat, which just somehow makes him feel even worse.

He swallows again and sighs, finally shutting the toilet seat and seating himself on top of it. He leans back until his back hits the tank, and he props his feet up against the door.

The coolness of the porcelain against his back slowly seeps into his skin, calming down his erratic heartbeat and fevered skin. The final cramp to his stomach seems to abate. He sighs as his muscles finally relax again.

He doesn't particularly enjoy 'bathroom breaks', never have, never will. Too many wedgies and spells cast on him in this particular venue to ever be _grateful _for stroll to the loo. But now? He probably hates it even more. Probably because there hasn't been a single time, in the past three months, that he's walked in here without someone in one of the stalls, crying their heart out.

Neville's a pretty empathetic guy, he's the proverbial shoulder-to-cry-on, but he doesn't have the energy for it anymore. It _never _changes anymore.

It's not "my girlfriend broke up with me", or "I failed my Transfiguration exam again", or "Snape's picking on me" –although in all honesty, that was mostly Neville himself who doing the crying on _that _occasion- or even "I miss my mum!".

Oh no.

Now it's just one thing. The Dark Lord. And everything that's connected to it. Anti-Muggle rallies, Dark Arts teachings, punishments. The Carrows.

It never changes. He doesn't even need to ask anymore.

He looks over to the wall of the stall, separating his own from the stall next to him. He can _hear _the hysterical sobs being muffled by a scarf… maybe a jersey. He doesn't want to know who it is, but spotting the straps of a camera lying on the floor next to his stall, he can guess.

Neville finally exits the stall and heads over to the basins, quickly washing his face to get him more alert. _Ready to seize the day_. He almost laughs when he spots the words 'Dumbledore's Army is still alive' written in charcoal markers across the back of the bathroom's door.

Almost.

At eight Neville, now rinsed-and-ready so to speak, walked into Muggle Studies. First class of the day. A glorious day. In fact, it was so glorious that their professor had decided to let them off with some required reading. A perfect morning.

_Muggles should be pitied. They live feeble lives without magic and live in a primitive matter, much akin to those of Inferi or Ghoul._

The class, well… everyone except the members of the old DA, nods. Luna and Neville, both sitting together near the end of the last row, just stay still.

Alecto Carrow smiles and sweeps her hand across the classroom, "When I see all of you, true witches and wizards by birth… I can't help but feel the greatest pity for the muggles. I can't help but realize that keeping them in this plain… it's been a torture for them. They experience so much pain… they lead such hard lives without magical assistance… we _must _do our wizard-duty," she successfully mimics a face that almost looks truly hurt, "We must help them along… that they know where their place is. _And where our rightful place is_."

A couple of old-Hufflepuff students gasp, but they quickly hide behind their books.

Neville sighs, pages distastefully through his book, there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. He tired… so _very _tired. It would be so easy just to…

"_Neville! Wake up!_" Luna's sharp voice cut through his three-second kip.

"Miss Lovegood?" Alecto' voice easily carries over the rows. A musical voice, lilting and endorsing. When she spots Neville next to Luna, there wasn't even a waiver in her stance or demeanour. In fact, she seemed even more _enchanting. _

Luna stands, "Yes, Professor Carrow?"

"Would you like to share your thoughts with the class?" she asks, her smile as sincere as her pity for muggles_… aka. Not sincere at all._

"No, thank you," Luna says chirpily, "I was just taking notes, sir."

"Really? Well, I would love your opinion then," Alecto presses on, leaning her hip on one of the closest desks. A pose worthy of Wizard's Weekly. The old-Hufflepuf student squishes himself against his partner in effort to put as much distance between her and _the Carrow._

"On what, sir?" Luna asks, cocking her head to the side.

_Oh, blissfully daydreaming Luna. _So badly Neville just wants to clamp his hand over her mouth and tell her to let it go, but he knows… even if he does do that, she'll just simply palaver on if he does let her go.

Alecto chuckles and waves her hand absently in the air, "Oh, you students with your sweet-nothings," she grins at the pair, "Please do pay attention to the lesson, Miss. Lovegood, you as well, Mr. Longbottom, it is important for the future."

"Of who, Professor Alecto?" Luna says, not sounding testily but meaning it so. Unconsciously she stepped in front of Neville, shielding him.

The woman laughs and instantly everyone's pages turn over to the next page of their studies, "… Well, of all you students' allegiance to the Dark Lord, of course!"

It's nine o' clock when McGonagall walks into her class, her hair pinned straight-back and her fixed gaze narrowed. She doesn't even have to tell them to 'quieten down'… not anymore.

She whirls her wand at the blackboard and in an instant it's wiped clean. When she turns, the class instantly sits up straighter with their eyes widened. An angry red handprint was visible on McGonagall's right cheek. It had to be a recent event.

"This morning, we're having a slight change made to our lesson plan," she practically growls through clenched teeth, "You're all going to keep yourselves busy, and I'm going to _pretend_ that I am."

Neville's eyebrow quirks, he looks over to Luna who shrugs.

No-one else moves a muscle. They haven't seen McGonagall _this _angry since two years ago, her tiff with Umbridge outside the Great Hall.

When McGonagall bewitches her quill to write some unnecessary copies of old notes, and she takes a seat at her desk and starts reading one of her old novels… well.. everyone else finally sighed in relief. They took out the homework Alecto had given them in the previous lesson, frantically scrambling to power through the work as quickly as possible. _A single deathblow is better than a slow death. _

Neville finished his essay in record time, smiling tiredly to himself. The title: _Muggle-borns have Magical talent too, _was probably some of his best work yet. He rolls the paper up and stuffs it in his book-bag, ready to catch some forty winks before next period.

He shuffles his bag on top of his desk and rests his head on it. _Goodnight, world. _

"Mr. Longbottom?" McGonagall calls from her desk, peering over her glasses, "Did… you hear _the news?_"

For a split-second the thought of screaming at her and disapperating to the Forbidden Woods didn't sound like a bad idea, he irritably wonders why she chose the _guilt-trip _route to get him to work… but he smiles sheepishly instead as he starts moving his bag back to its previous spot, "Sorry, professor. I'll get back to work."

"Oh no, carry on. I just wondered if you … if you were feeling sick," she says quickly and continues reading her novel.

Without a doubt, it was the first time he's felt truly grateful that McGonagall was his teacher. He doesn't even notice her pained expression when he finally rests his head back on his book-bag. Not when his thoughts finally drift into oblivion as he floats away in a doze.

… "Neville, did you hear about Ginny?"

He sits up and shakes his head, "No… what… what happened?" he asks, still feeling _very _sleepy.

"Ginny… she s-sneaked into Slughorn's office last night and stole some Veritaserum! Alecto caught her while she w-was sneaking back to the girls' dormitories…" Parvati Patil says, her voice shaking.

"Wait, _Ginny?_" Neville runs the possibility through his mind. _No. All the DA activities they discuss together beforehand…. _

"Yes! And they want to use her as an example for students who fight against Hogwarts!" Parvati almost yells. She grabs Neville's arm, her grip isn't firm though and her hands are trembling. She looks like she wants to cry.

"Example…? What- how- when is-" a thousand questions run through his mind, but none can actually ask the question he wants to. He tries to get a look at McGonagall, to gauge if she'll be able to help him save Ginny.

Suddenly, the young girl bursts into tears and grabs him by the shoulders, "They're busy right now! It's the Avada-"

Neville wakes with a start when McGonagall shakes his shoulder, "Wake up, Longbottom," she says, her voice thick with concern –although it doesn't show on her face, "Your next class with Madam Pomfrey starts in ten minutes… better get going".

His voice sounds thick as he thanks her; he clears his throat and sits up. The sudden breeze pulls his attention to something wet on the cheek he was lying on. Neville hadn't even realized he'd been crying.

It was a long walk down to the Greenhouses. Or, at least, it felt long. For the first time in years, he doesn't look forward to Herbology.

Poppy Pomfrey and he share a close bond for the past few years. She'd instantly recognize that something was wrong, and he _definitely _didn't want to talk about it. But, he also supposed that _that _was the nice thing about her, that if he didn't _want _to talk that she'd be fine with that. Of course, he'd always get an earful when he finally _does _talk… he felt a bit happier when he realized that she had indirectly become a second family to him.

"Morning Class!" she tries her best to lift the standard-gloom in the classroom. It never works anymore. She takes her time to explain the properties of Shepherd's Purse and its magical qualities. She asks a few questions, asks each student to prepare a brew of tea with the herb.

"Longbottom, if you please," she motioned to the adjacent greenhouse, where they usually grew the more 'valuable' aka. Expensive herbs.

Slowly, Neville follows, _really _not wanting to do _anything _but just crawl in a hole somewhere and sleep for a week.

The elderly woman breaks off a couple of Lily-of-the-Valley flowers and hand them to him, "Eat them," she instructs and pretends to be showing him which of the herbs she'd like to move to another part of the greenhouse –just in case one of the 'loyal Dark Lord' students decided to see what they were up to.

He pops them in his mouth, grimacing at the bittersweet taste. _Lily-of-the-Valley, Convallaria Magalis, to boost vitality and uplifts the mood. _

_Yeah, it was a bad day so far… but Snape didn't turn out to be an enemy… and McGonagall had given them time off… plus, he still had half-an-hour left of Herbology lessons. AND, he'll be planting Lovage this afternoon. Everyone who'd tried cultivating them themselves have failed, but he and Madam Pomfrey have had success. It can only get better! _

The elderly lady smiles, since, she doesn't have the heart to tell him that Aniline Hodge is dead.

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_Cliffy! Again… wow… :) I'm enjoying this series! _

_Thanks for reading! Please drop me a review if you liked it ;) It always inspires me and it makes my day!_


	4. Aftershock

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its related characters or themes.

W000t! For all my awesome reviewers, favourite-eez and alert-eez…. MWAH! *hugs* I can't tell you how much your reviews mean to me! Thank you!

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><p>.<p>

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_**Aftershock…**_

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By four 'o Clock a certain brown-haired wizard was finally strolling back to his dormitory, a stack of books in his arms. An essay due in both Muggle Studies (which he'd already finished) and Potions, copying notes from six pages of Runes, practicing of the Fianto Duri shield-charm for Professor Flitwick's class _and that was that. _Of course, he was _supposed _to be learning how to do _Imperio… but where's the fun in controlling someone's mind when you had your own. _

He smiles to himself at the thought and adjusts his books, only to have them fly out of his hands a second later. The books skid clear across the hall, courtesy of Crabbe and Goyle. Crabbe grins and waves his wand a bit, "Going somewhere?"

Neville swallows hard, trying to quell his anger, jams his hands into his pockets to stop himself from reaching for his wand.

"Oooh, I think you made him angry, Crabbe," Goyle says and tugs an unwilling-Draco closer, "_Look!_"

Neville can't help but notice Draco's nervousness, how awkward he now looks between his two henchmen. As if _Draco _was the one being harassed. "Can I go now?" Neville says, but knows that the opposite is about to happen. But there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. _Not _if he didn't want an Umbridge-type detention session.

"Of course, Long_buttocks,_" Crabbe says and the small crowd behind him starts careening with laughter.

"Enough, Crabbe," Draco abruptly snaps and starts pushing at Crabbe's arm, "I'm still the prefect here, and this is enough to have to me send you to detention."

"What's wrong with you?" Goyle growls and glares at the Malfoy-heir, "Since when do _you _pull prefect on us? We're your friends, after all!"

Draco turns a strange hue of purple and grabs his wand from his pocket, jabbing it under Goyle's jaw, "_Are you telling me what to do?_" he growls lowly.

Neville, using the distraction to his advantage, summons his books and continues on his way. Alright… more like, bolts on his way. He wasn't about to face all three of them at the same time. On a good day he'll be fine… but he still hadn't recovered completely from _Alecto's "Interrogation" _from the previous afternoon_. _

"Hey, hold on there," Goyle, noticing Neville's departure, turned his wand to the young man, "_Levicorpus!_"

Again, Neville's books were tossed out of his hands, but this time, he was seeing the world upside-down. He sighs, not wanting to use DA-learnt spells this way but he knows this duel won't end until a victor is decided, "_Everte Statum_!"

Goyle flies back a good ten meters, finally falling flat on his face.

The Levicorpus curse instantly extinguishes and Neville manages to land on all-fours –he couldn't help but chuckle nervously at his luck. He gathers all his books once more and pats them into a neat pile before taking off again. He wasn't pursued again.

It's just after ten when Neville finally finishes all his homework in the study hall. It was only about twenty minutes ago when he started practicing his Fianto Duri charm. And, now? Twenty minutes later, he has perfected his shield charm. A half-circle whip and then a quick up-and-down flick. _Perfect. _A small blue light escapes his wand, slowly growing in size until Neville extinguishes it.

Luna and Michael stare at Neville for a few minutes before bursting out in laughter.

Neville tilts his head, a quizzical expression on his face, which just worsens the case.

Michael, almost falling off the bench from laughter, ends up hanging on to the sides of the table for dear life.

"What is it?" Neville finally says, starting to feel _very _self-conscious that half the students were starting to glare at the three of them. He only then realised that he hadn't seen Aniline or Ginny for a couple of days now… he made a mental note to find them after Study Hall.

"Your face! You always seem so surprised when you succeed," Luna says, bringing his attention back to the present by hiding her face in her Potions textbook.

A blush of beet-red from the young man caused a couple of other students to start giggling. It'd been so long since any of them had an opportunity to laugh… to have _any _freedom… and that just worsened it. The laughter ended up being a strange hysterical-type of laughter, which only happens when emotions are bottled up for too long. A sharp, lilting, teary laughter filled the hall. Some of the students even started crying, they were laughing so hard. But, it wasn't as long-lived as they thought.

"What is all this commotion?" Amycus asks, striding into the hall with a proud step. His gaze sweeps across the room and comes to rest on Anthony Goldstein, "Would you like to inform me, Mr. Goldstein?"

"Sorry, sir… I don't know…" the young man quickly says and practically dives back into his studying. Needless to say, all the other students were doing the same.

"What to do… _what to do…_" Amycus says in a sing-song voice, "I want information… but everyone seems to have undergone a memory charm…"

Cho Chang whimpers when he brushes past her chair, which inadvertently caused him to pause.

"Oh, Miss. Chang! Will you be able to tell me what transpired in here that students found so _amusing?_" he asks, leaning his head down and smiling as he waited for an answer.

"I…. uh…"

"Have you _also _had an _obliviate _charm cast against you?" he asks, grinning when the girl sitting next to Cho squirmed further away from her friend.

"N-no…"

"Well, then I suppose you are in perfect condition to tell me what happened. Don't you think?" Amycus says and nods to himself, "Yes… and if I recall, you have been _very _helpful in divulging information to the faculty before, haven't you?"

Neville frowns. That wasn't fair. To use what happened almost three years ago against her. Umbridge had used Veritaserum on Cho Chang, which caused her to disclose the DA's founding and activities to that _woman… _it wasn't her fault, not really.

"We-we thought…" she started, but was quickly interrupted by Jim Dolley.

"-Sir, I was reading through my _Muggle Studies _book… and recited the chapter on Muggle's pathetic ways of survival…" he quickly says, his voice thick with disdain and humour, "It was so truthful, I couldn't help but want to share it… _I'm sorry…_"

Amycus stood grinning, "My sister teaches Muggle Studies… ha!" he claps his hands together –causing the students to flinch involuntarily, "I never thought she'll make a good teacher, seems I was wrong!"

He laughs and walks off, calling to Flitwick across the hall, "Send the brats to bed, it's late."

When James takes a seat after a few moments, most of the students glare at him hatefully. But, Neville knows what Jim had just done. He had noticed the adrenalin causing Jim's hands to shake. Neville _knows _that Jim was a half-blood and loved his mother, a _muggle_, more than anything else in the world. He _knows _Jim's mother and father "left Jim at Hogwarts" in September and "went into hiding like cowards". He knows why Jim keeps up the pretence that he hadn't actually spoken to them in months via Floo or owls. Because the Dark Lord hears things. If _Voldemort _heard otherwise…

He knows. And that's why Neville stays silent and just puts his hand on Jim's shoulder while the group leaves the Study Hall. He _knows _and Jim knows too_._

Michael Corner and Luna take their leave and head to the Ravenclaw tower, bidding Neville goodnight at the moving staircases.

It takes Neville a good ten minutes to navigate the stairs again –had to wait out the first set of stairs' merry-go-round turn. When he finally reaches the portrait, he quickly mumbles the password and enters.

He shrugs off his cloak and throws it over the sofa, startling Ginny Weasley from her apparent nap.

"You've been sleeping the entire day?" Neville asks incredulously and drops his book-bag next to the sofa. He takes a seat in front of the fireplace and holds his hands out to warm them up.

The red and gold of Gryffindor might've been replaced with one colour, but the students did their best to keep their best to keep the colours returning –albeit not without some repercussions. Right now though, everything was the same grey colour. Depressing.

He rubs his hands together, only now realising how cold he really was.

"Hey… Neville… you heard the news…. Right?" Ginny says, her voice sounding hoarse.

He turns around, noticing her tone. He blinked shocked when he noticed her puffy eyes, her blood-red cheeks and the dark circles around her eyes. "Wha- what happened?" he says, suddenly _extremely _alert.

"Aniline… Neville… _she's…_" Ginny starts, only to start coughing into her sobs.

"What happened?" Neville asks, standing up from his spot, groaning when his cold knees protest, "Ginny?"

The red-haired girl buries her face in her hands, "Last night! She had detention with the _Carrows_! They killed her!" her voice cracked, her sobs coming hysterically now.

_Last night… no…_ _I had detention with Alecto last night…. Only Colin was in there before me… she couldn't have… can't be… _"Ginny, only me and Colin had detention… what-"

"AFTERWARDS! She was helping Colin to the dorms when they caught her… they said she was 'out of bed afterhours'… their punishment… " Ginny managed to say, stopping only to take a couple of shaky breaths. "McGonagall told me this morning… Madam Pomfrey was called to -"

Whatever Ginny said just didn't register with him. He could see her lips moving and could see her shoulders shaking. At one point he could even remember seeing her lips moving: _Don't. _

_But, what shouldn't he do? It didn't matter now, did it? None of the 'Dumbledore's Army' training was even enough to scratch the surface of this infection. None of it had prepared them. At all._

_Their training didn't tell them what to do when Death Eaters take over Hogwarts. What to do when you're forced to learn Dark Arts by teachers who would just as soon kill you than teach you. What to do when your opponents are stronger, in overwhelming forces and come from places you never expected. _

_No. And, now? Who's keeping the DA alive? Three students. The leader left. The leader left on a goose chase across England. Why? Who knows? Last thing he heard, when Harry returns for his seventh year, the DA lessons will return in full-swing. They'll all carry the torch of Dumbledore and keep the fire alive. And now? Ginny's brother's missing along with The-Boy-Who-Lived and the walking encyclopaedia of spells._

_The 'Trio' left Hogwarts to fend for itself. Abandoning them for the wolves. They didn't even let anyone know why. They just fucking left. _

_Left Hogwarts and left everyone here to die._

_Just like Aniline_.

He cringed at the thought of her last words to him : _I'll see you after detention, okay?_ She… was waiting for him. That's why she was there. She was waiting outside _for him_. And then, in the end, she died. Because of him.

Because he had detention with _her. Alecto Carrow. _And THAT woman…. She and her damned brother. They _killed Aniline _because they know. They know she is part of the DA_. They knew she was part of the DA. _

"_Bombarda Maxima,"_ the words have left his words before he even knows where he is. The young man's eyes fly open with a start when, from the tip of his wand, a large surge of energy flies towards the entrance of the Room of Requirement.

For a split-second, he regrets it. He's about to destroy everything the DA had worked for. He's about to destroy the only place where the DA can ever hope to train or even meet. He's about to disband Dumbledore's Army.

But when the second surge of energy hits the place where the door of the Room of Requirement would be… well… any second-thoughts he had promptly flew out of his mind. He wants this. He _wants _this to end before anyone else gets hurt.

"_Expelliarmus_!" a deep voice next to him abruptly screams, sending Neville's wand flying.

_**...tbc...**_

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><p>Thanks for reading! Please drop me a pm or review if you liked it ;)<p> 


	5. Having a Break

FireChildSlytherin5, saramagician and FireSenshi2 for their fantabulicious reviews! Thank you so much! And all my alert-eez and favourite-eez…. MWAH! Love you all! It always makes my day to see a review for any of my fics on my email alert.

This chapter: Having a Break… cause even when you're fighting a war… you need a bit of down-time.

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><p>.<p>

_**.**_

_**Having a Break**_

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For a few seconds, it didn't even look like Neville had even registered that someone was holding him back. When he finally did, however...

"Tell me, what portion of your brain prohibits self-preservation, Longbottom?" Snape growls angrily and whips his hands to his sides, "_Well?"_

Neville stares at his hand, his arm now hanging limp, the tip of the wand still glowing with the un-casted spell.

"_You're vastly outnumbered, fighting against a power far exceeding your own and you choose to let blind rage outweigh your sense of logic?" _Snape growls and scoffs, "_I expect the Leader of Dumbledore's Army to keep his head and hopefully his limbs in-tact, as well._"

A pair of footsteps sounds from the Great Hall, "Severus, what troubles you, my friend?" Amycus asks, practically floating towards the pair of them.

Snape straightens up and his lips are pulled into a thin line, "Absolutely nothing, Carrow," he turns to Neville and narrows his eyes, "Now, _get moving_."

Neville's breathing catches when Amycus puts a hand on his shoulder, "_Now, now… _I was just curious!" he slaps Neville's face and smiles, "We always have our students' best interests at heart."

"_Obviously_," Snape mutters lowly, stepping to the side and sweeping his cloak aside, "_Move."_

When Neville doesn't move immediately, Snape reached forwards and yanked him in the direction of the dorms. "I swear, he gets slower every year," he mutters when Neville is half-way down the hall. It doesn't cause the young man to turn back however.

Only around eleven does Neville finally reach the old Gryffindor dorm. The DA was waiting for him.

"What was going on down there?" Seamus asks, twirling his wand between his fingers, "We had a house-elf come to us… they told us someone was trying to destroy the wall between Transfigurations class and the Hall of Hexes… that's where we used to practice with Harry there…"

"-Yes! The room of requirement! Neville found it-" Rebecca Wood interrupts.

"-But, why would anyone want to destroy it?" Thais Clearwater asks and turns to Ginny, "I mean… we haven't had a meeting there in months!"

Ginny turns to Neville, "Neville? Was it you?"

Neville suddenly bursts into laughter, causing a couple members of the old army to step back in shock. It wasn't because Neville looked angry, hurt or scared… it was because tears were streaming down his face.

The old Hogwarts grounds, now patrolled by Ministry endorsed Dementors, seemed to be colder than any other year that Hogwarts had ever experienced. It seemed to be constantly enveloped by clouds and darkness. An evil shadow seemed to be lingering throughout the school now.

It wasn't the Hogwarts that Dumbledore had once been Headmaster of.

The ministry had changed. Muggles were no longer protected or even minded. _Magic is might_ now, and it seemed that the entire Wizarding World was enveloped by the Dark Mark.

"Students, I need _not _remind you to _mind your manners, _and… as always, if student or staff has any information about the whereabouts of Mr. Harry Potter, Mr. Ronald Weasley or Miss. Hermione Granger… _to report it_," Snape commands, sweeping his eyes over the crowd. His eyes stop at Zeke Johnson, who guiltily lowers his head.

Snape finally turns around and apparates out of the Great hall, both Death Eaters following him in tow.

It was like the entire hall sighed in collective relief. With Snape and the Carrows gone, the smallest measure of normalcy somehow returned.

Slowly, each Head of House slowly sent their students to their respective classrooms. Everyone was reluctant to even stay in the first place.

"_Mr. Longbottom?"_

"Yes?". _Wow… that's strange… it sounds like Madam Pomfrey…_

"_Mr. Longbottom, can you hear me?_"

"Of course I can". _… am I speaking too softly? … it sounds fine to me…_

"Oh! Minerva… thank goodness! I'm not sure what else to do. Beyond essence of Dittany… "

_Minerva? Professor McGonagall? Why are they –_

"Poppy, I brought you the Dragon's Claw you were looki- _OH! _Dear heavens! What happened to the poor boy?"

"Longbottom. It's your Professor speaking. Can you hear me?"

"_Yes, Professor." I'm not talking on a telephone, people. _

"He's not responsive, Minerva… " _who isn't responsive. I'm answering your questions, aren't I?_

"Horace, maybe you should contact Severus… he's -"

"-working for the Dark Lord!"

It's bleary when Neville finally opens his eyes. Swirls of colours float around him, seeming to dissolve one moment and return the next. He takes in a deep breath and slowly releases it.

"He's waking up!"

_Class. The Carrows. If I'm late… I can't let everyone down… _Neville's already walking to the door of the Infirmary before he even registers that he'd actually been out like a light not two seconds ago.

"Mr. Longbottom, come sit down this instant!" Pomfrey's voice booms through the room.

"Sorry, I have to- " Neville starts to turn, only to lose his balance a seconds later. He stumbles back until his back hits one of the Infirmary beds, "I'm late…"

"Calm down, you collapsed in the Great Hall after … _they… _left…" McGonagall says, her face twisted in worry, "You need to sit down."

"I have to get to-"

"_Sit. Down._"

Neville quickly complies, not really wanting to be transfigured by his Head of House into a lounge chair for effect. It's only then when he realizes how dizzy and tired he really was. He blinks a couple of times, trying to slow down the spinning room.

"Here you go," Horace Slughorn says and a glass of butterbeer appears under Neville's nose.

Neville stares at it for a few seconds before chuckling, "Isn't this against school policy?"

"_What policy_!" McGonagall scoffs and conjures three more mugs for herself and Pomfrey.

"To Neville Longbottom," Pomfrey suggests and holds up her mug proudly.

"Who can fight evil wearing a cardigan_,_" McGonagall says and the three clang their glasses together, laughing. Quite late that afternoon, Luna came to visit.

"I brought you your homework for today," she says as soon as she walks through the door. She smiles when she pulls up a chair next to his bed, "You look terrible."

One great thing so far with the whole good versus bad thing, was that your sense of fashion kinda flies out the door. Well, Neville _thought _that until Luna had walked in and he quickly tried to fix his hair and sleep-wrinkled clothes.

"Did you have a good nap?" she asks and hands him two stacks of notes.

He thinks back to the not-exactly-school-policy-drink he shared with two of his mentors… how this was the first time in years he's actually been able to sleep solidly for more than two hours, "Yeah…" he rubs his eyes tiredly and shuffles through the papers, "Are … they… back yet?"

Luna shakes her head, "They're out looking for the sword again."

"It's _still_ missing?" Neville asks, and shakes his head, refocusing his attention.

"… I didn't copy notes for you, knowledge gained by yourself is knowledge retained…. but I have brought you your textbooks," she drops a whole stack of books on his bed, "I'll go over the work with you, if you'd like."

"If you don't mind?" he asks sheepishly, not wanting to be left alone with a mountain of work.

They sit together for a while, going over notes, doing homework together. Just enjoying each other's' company. It felt like it was the first normal thing to happen to them since they arrived at Hogwarts this year.

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><p><em>Thanks for reading! Please drop me a review if you liked it ;) It always inspires me and it makes my day!<em>

_Depending how this series' responses go, I'll get into the latter portion of the Deathly Hallow series, where the real fun begins. Seamus learning Fiendfyre. Luna getting kidnapped. Neville cultivating defences in the Greenhouses. Snape on a rampage… what?_


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